Associations to the word «Sterilize»

Wiktionary

STERILIZE, verb. To deprive a male or female the ability to procreate.
STERILIZE, verb. To make unable to produce. To make unprofitable.
STERILIZE, verb. (biology) To kill, deactivate (denature), or destroy (break apart) all living, viable microorganisms and spores that would be on a surface, in a fluid, or contained in a compound, such as culture media or a medical product.

Dictionary definition

STERILIZE, verb. Make free from bacteria.
STERILIZE, verb. Make infertile; "in some countries, people with genetically transmissible disabilites are sterilized".

Wise words

Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.
Noam Chomsky